Wage Slave Rebellion is the first full-length novel written by yours truly, Stephen W. “Stilts” Gee. Since I first joined Random Curiosity, it has been my dream to write fantasy novels, and today I finally have one to share with you. A full description is available on the book’s Amazon listing and on its dedicated page on my website. Here’s the short, elevator speech-style synopsis I’ve been using:

It’s called Wage Slave Rebellion, and it’s an urban fantasy-adventure set in a sword & sorcery world. It’s about three friends who hate their crappy jobs, so they decide to become monster-slaying adventurers instead. It’s kind of like Terry Pratchett spliced with a badass action anime.

This book is the first in the Firesign series. In fact, I’ve already written a couple of short stories, and one is available now. It’s called Action Politics, and it’s available for FREE, though tips are appreciated. It’s a direct sequel to Wage Slave Rebellion, so if you’re interested, make sure to read the book first.

“Tell me more.”

Wage Slave Rebellion is the fruit of years of labor. My dream is to tell stories and write them down for a living, and I’ve been chasing that dream for nearly a decade now. Probably half of that time has been spent working on Wage Slave Rebellion or its precursors. From graduating university to slaving away at a full-time job, I’ve worked on this book in fits and starts, pouring all my effort into getting better so I could do justice to the story in my head. I poured blood, sweat, and tears—or at least the latter two, along with time, time, and more time—into this book, and I’ve spent my money as well, paying to get it professionally edited (multiple times), professionally formatted, and professionally illustrated. I’ve done a lot of work so I can present this book to you today, the first in the Firesign series, with more already on the way.

Here’s the synopsis: Wage Slave Rebellion follows three friends in their mid-twenties. Though they live in a world full of magick, monsters, and gods—and can all use magick themselves, to one degree or another—they’re stuck in crappy, dead-end jobs. Mazik Kil’Raeus (on the cover: middle) is a salesman, peddling weapons door-to-door; Gavi Ven’Kalil (right) is a combination waiter/bouncer at a local bar; and Raedren Ian’Moro (left) is an apprentice healer, using his magick to help people regenerate limbs, recover from burns, and heal debilitating injuries. With a mixture of frustration, stark boredom, and outright contempt, the three friends are not happy with their lives, but they don’t know what to do. How are they supposed to know what will make them happy?

If you can’t relate to their struggle, you’re a luckier person than I. This is a story about what happens when three friends decide to drag themselves out of their rut and finally start doing something with their lives, instead of just getting by as cogs in society. But where others would take it slow, these three don’t do things halfway. It’s an adventurer’s life for them, full of fighting monsters, rescuing the weak, and traveling around the world as they please! No two days will ever be the same again!

Or that’s the plan, but it won’t be that easy. With a consortium of powerful guilds determined to keep them out—along with anyone else; these three aren’t special—Mazik and his friends have to do something impressive to break into the biz. That’s when they set their eyes on a difficult quest: tracking down and putting a stop to a group of kidnappers who have been terrorizing their city for months. But the kidnappers are more dangerous than anyone anticipated, and it’s going to be a mighty struggle for the three friends to come out on top, much less survive!

That’s a struggle they relish. Watch as these three friends—Mazik, the outgoing showboat with a penchant for explosions; Gavi, the scrappy pragmatist who’s deadly with a sword; and Raedren, the introverted nice guy whose protection magicks are all that’s keeping them alive—pour all of their strength, intelligence, and willpower into joining a profession that promises only financial insecurity, constant danger, and absolutely no assurances that they’ll find success, much less survive. But if they make it, nobody will be able to tell them what to do anymore, and they’ll be wage slaves no longer. Wage Slave Rebellion is an explosive adventure full of pulse-pounding magickal action that never forgets that adventures should always be fun!

“Will I like it?”

Anime and manga have been huge influences on my writing. Many of the things that are absent in Western commercial fiction—a lightness of tone, adventure, badass explosive action, and the occasional bout of hijinks and hilarity—are present in my book because that’s what I love in anime. The book has even been called “cinematic,” so the anime influence is clear. But I was careful to avoid many of anime’s worst pitfalls as well. If you’re tired of angsty high school students with improbable harems starring in shallow light novel plots, rest assured—there’s none of that here. This is an adult story about career anxiety, entrepreneurship, and daring to do the work that you love, all wrapped up in a fantasy-adventure that’s simply fun to read. It also starts in a bar, as all good adventures should.

If I were to describe Wage Slave Rebellion in (mostly) anime terms, I would say:

Those are influences and stylistic similarities, not direct references to the plot, so don’t go expecting flying sci-fi battleships, world-exploding lolis, or MMORPG epics. But if you see a couple of stories in that list you enjoy, keep reading. If not … well, I’d like you to keep reading anyway, but this book may not be for you.

I’m ridiculously proud of the story I’ve told with Wage Slave Rebellion. It has a good plot with characters I hope you’ll fall in love with, a detailed hard fantasy world (with a soft fantasy twist) to ground the action, and at its root it’s just a fun, entertaining story. If any of this sounds good to you, it’s available as a DRM-free ebook for $3.99 right now (Regions: US, UK, CA, FR, DE, IT, NL, ES, AU, BR, IN, JP, MX, paperback).

Still not sure if you’ll like it? Here’s the prologue from the book. Click the spoiler tags below to read the first scene of the book. It’s pretty representative of my writing style and the tone of the book, so if you’re on the fence, this will help you decide.

It was late on a not particularly important weekday afternoon. Inside a bar on a street full of bars, the lunch rush had given way to a lazy lull while evening still approached. Those still inside were scattered around the bar’s single room, each sitting alone as they quietly drowned themselves. Behind the bar was a gruff, weathered man with a stained dishrag tossed over his shoulder. He was cleaning mugs with the practiced ease of a man who had been doing it for years, and would continue for many more.
The front door opened, flooding the room with dusty yellow light. The patrons winced. A shape moved into the doorway, and then the door swung shut.

Dressed in a fine navy tunic and tailored slacks made dusty from the streets outside, the man looked around. In one hand was a rigid black case, large enough to hold an organ keyboard with room to spare for half the pipes; in the other was the hilt of the sword that hung at his side. Around his shoulders, a well-worn brown cloak guarded against the waning winter chill.

His shoes picking up dirt and sawdust as he went, the man approached the bar. He deposited his heavy black case onto a stool and settled himself beside it.

“What’ll it be?” asked the bartender as he cleaned his mugs.

“Shot of whiskey. Please.”

“Sure,” said the bartender. A shot was poured.

“Thank you,” said the man. He raised his glass, and the shot disappeared.

“Ahhh!” said the man as he set the glass down, carefully. It went clink.

“Another?” asked the bartender.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that, Mas, uhm…?”

“Fregan Cor’Dynadkr. You can call me Dynad.”

“I’m Mazik Kil’Raeus, and you can call me whatever you like,” said the man, bowing. He smiled. “Nice to meet you, Dynad.”

Dynad returned the bow. “You too,” he said, though he didn’t sound as if he meant it.

Mazik took note of the burns, the hastily repaired tables and chairs, and the marks scored deep into the walls. And the furniture, and the ceiling, and quite a lot of the people, for that matter. “You get a lot of adventurers in here?”

“Here,” said Dynad, setting down the full shot glass. “Yeh, we get our fair share.”

“Looks like they really beat up the place,” said Mazik.

Dynad shrugged. “A bit. Can’t complain too much. We get a lot of business from ’em.”

“Enough to cover all the damages?”

“Yeh, mostly.”

“I may have a way to get rid of that ‘mostly’ for ya.”

Mazik’s case landed on top of the bar with a heavy thwack, sending ripples through his drink. The latches on the side clicked open, and the lid followed.

“I don’t think I mentioned this before, but I work for AIW, the number-one independent distributor of magickally enhanced defensive equipment in the city,” said Mazik.

Dynad’s blank expression gave way to disgust. “Oh. You’re a salesman.”

“Only because my mother didn’t give birth to a girl,” said Mazik smoothly. “By the way, you’re the owner of this establishment, correct?”

“Yes, I am,” said Dynad. “Unfortunately.”

“Nothing unfortunate about it!” said Mazik, his voice taking on the upbeat, slightly sing-song tone of a salesman running up to his pitch. “Tell me, how often do your patrons get into serious altercations?”

“If you’ve ever been in a bar with adv—” Dynad stopped and thought about this. “A bar period, you know the answer to that question,” he finished grumpily. “Look, I’m not interested. I don’t need any—”

“But what if I were to tell you it would save you money?” interrupted Mazik.

“I would tell you you’re full of shit. I’m never going to make money stabbing my customers,” said Dynad.

“Ah, but you could keep the money you’ve already made!” said Mazik. “I’m sure you’ve had situations where someone got a bit too drunk, realized they were out of money, and decided the cash box would be a good place to get more, right?”

“I have. None have gotten away with it. Now, I’m going to—”

“Of course. I can see you’re a busy man,” said Mazik, against all evidence to the contrary, “but what I can also see is that you’re a businessman. Let’s make a deal.”

“Look, friend, I—”

“Here’s what I’ll do for you,” said Mazik. “I’ll come back later tonight and talk to some of your patrons, see if they would like some of my merchandise,” he said, patting the case. “In exchange, I’ll give you a quarter of my profits. Honestly, you’ll probably get more than that, ’cause I’m bound to buy a few rounds while I’m here.”

“Ah, so you recognize their quality!” said Mazik, his face brightening. He selected a knife, holding it up for Dynad to see. “Fantastic workmanship, isn’t it?” he said, laying the blade on his palm. “Just look at how that blade glimmers. And this handle, made from the finest—”

“What part of ‘not interested’ do you not understand?”

“The ‘not’ part,” said Mazik. He leaned forward. “Come on, this is a great opportunity for you to make a little extra money! They’re always wrecking up the place, right? If they’re going to do it anyway, you might as well make money off them coming and going.” Mazik raised his glass, offering a toast. “What do you say?”

Finally, Mazik shrugged and drank his whiskey. “All right. In that case, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. If you ever want anything, here’s my card.” Mazik placed it on the bar. “My office is on the north side of town. Just send a messenger and ask for Mazik, and I’ll come see you within a day or so. Sound good?”

Dynad continued to stare.

“Right,” said Mazik. He looked around. A few seats away a balding, middle-aged man with a nasty sunburn and listless eyes sat staring into his drink.

“How about you?” said Mazik, sliding over. “Interested in a weapon or two?”

“Already got one,” said the man. He opened his jacket to reveal a battered knife, its notched blade having apparently seen great deal of use.

“And a good one it is,” Mazik lied smoothly, “but what happens if someone takes it from you? Disarmed, you wouldn’t be able to protect yourself. Or your family…?”

“Fuck off,” said the sunburned man.

“Not a big family man, gotcha,” said Mazik. He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I guess—”

“Oh, fuck you, buddy!” roared the sunburned man. He balled up his fists and swung, aiming for Mazik’s head.

With a snap and a sizzle, the sunburned man fell backward, his arm shaking as he howled in pain.

Mazik lowered his hand. “Now, you see, if you had one of our weapons, that wouldn’t have happened. It would have absorbed part of the force of my spell, so you wouldn’t have—”

Something clicked next to Mazik’s head. He froze.

“All right, pal. I’m gunna need you to leave,” said Dynad.

Mazik slowly turned and found himself eyeball-to-arrowhead with the business end of a crossbow.

“Hey, no need to get angry,” said Mazik, raising his hands. The fact that he was still holding a knife didn’t help. “I’m just trying to get in an honest day’s work.”

“There’s little honest about what you do. I won’t have anyone bothering my customers with shit like that, especially not the way you do it. Now collect your things and get out.”

“Of course. You only had to ask,” said Mazik. He packed his case, picked it up, and slowly backed away. Dynad came around the bar and followed, the crossbow pointed at Mazik the whole time.

“Oh, I almost forgot one thing,” said Mazik, stopping with the front door half open.

“Yeh? What’s that?”

“Thanks for the free drinks!” Mazik disappeared outside.

By the time Dynad burst through the front door in a fury of impassioned cursing, Mazik was a block away and accelerating. “Serves you right for being such a dick about it!” he yelled.

A crossbow bolt collided with Mazik’s forehead, tossing him to the ground like a pile of dirty rags. He twitched for a few seconds, and then stopped moving as he drew his last breath…

…or he would have, were Mazik a normal salesman. He was not. As the crossbow bolt struck his forehead, there was a flash of blue light, and the bolt fell to the ground. Mazik staggered a few steps.

Mazik jumped as another bolt whizzed past his head. He waved his arms wildly. “Will you stop that!” he said, and then turned and ran.

Dashing into an alley, Mazik hurled himself against the far wall and scrambled over. He dropped his product case and followed it, flopping onto a pile of trash cans with a splintery crash.

A few long seconds passed, and then Mazik popped up and resumed legging it.

Mazik ran for several more streets before he came to a stop. He stood there for a time, trying to breathe quietly, listening to make sure he wasn’t being followed anymore.

Mazik relaxed.

Though not even winded, Mazik slumped against the wall, letting himself slide to the ground. Around him the city buzzed with the sound of thousands of people going about their work or play, living lives full of happiness and love and purpose and laughter, or at least so it sounded to Mazik. Yet here he sat, staring blankly at a wall like one of the drunks slowly killing themselves back in the bar he had so quickly left.

Mazik sighed. “I really need to find a new job.”

With a grunt, he slapped his palms on his knees and pushed himself up. It was time to head to the next potential customer. He needed to get back to work.

Maybe I’ll even make a sale this time, he thought as he walked out into the street proper. I’d like to actually make some money today. It would be nice to eat tonight.

Mazik stopped and sighed again.

“Fuck my life,” he said, and then trudged onward.

End Prologue Sample

I Need Your Help

I’ve told you about my dream. I’ve told you how long I’ve been writing, how long I’ve been working on this particular book, and all the sweat, tears, and time I’ve poured into it. What I haven’t told you is how much I appreciate all the help you’ve given me along the way. You all probably didn’t know this, but blogging at Random Curiosity has been invaluable in helping me finish this book. During the times I doubted, when I was unsure, when I was so swamped with my full-time job or life, or I didn’t think I would ever be able to do this story justice, writing here helped me keep going. It reminded me that I could write, and I could do it well—or at least better—as long as I stuck with it and kept writing. For that, and for the kind words you’ve given me along the way, thank you.

Now I’m asking for your help again. My immediate goal is to be able to afford to keep writing, and hopefully write more of the time. To do that I need people to read my book. Please consider picking up a copy. If you read it, please leave me a review on Amazon—reviews help future readers decide if they’ll enjoy it, which is a huge help. Of course, I hope for favorable reviews, but if you read it and don’t like it, writing a review about who would not enjoy it is useful as well.

If you end up enjoying Wage Slave Rebellion, remember that there’s a short story that takes place one month after the events of the books. It’s called Action Politics, and it’s available on my website now. It can be downloaded for free, unless you want to give me a tip (more details here).

But most of all, if you read everything and enjoy it, please help me spread the word. Talk about it, do social media things about it, tell your friends, family, and anyone else who might enjoy it. Whatever you can do to help me get the word out would be enormously helpful.

The Bottom Line

Wage Slave Rebellion is an entertaining, exciting, and downright fun fantasy-adventure. It’s an adult story without being too serious, with explosive action, funny banter, and characters I think you’re going to love. Please check it out, consider buying it, and tell your friends.

My older brother once told me that you only need one or two people to give you a chance before you control your own destiny. I’m an idiot, so I’m asking for more. It’s my dream to tell stories that make people’s lives just a little bit happier, but I can’t do it without you. Help me achieve my dream, and I promise I’ll keep writing entertaining stories for you for as long as I can. It’s all up to you whether I’ll be able to keep doing this, or if I’ll have to continue the path of a wage slave myself.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What will this mean for your blogging at Random Curiosity?

A: In the short-term, nothing. I still love blogging, so I have no plans to stop writing for RandomC in the near future. However, I may not be able to continue forever. Between my full-time job, blogging, writing fiction, and occasionally having a social/dating life (not so much lately), something is eventually going to have to give. I would prefer it to be my full-time job, but that’s up to you. The best thing to do is to pick up a book and tell a few friends. That way, when I eventually do retire from RandomC, I’ll still be able to write for you all.

Q: You’re the ecchi blogger. Does this book have a lot of fanservice?

A: I-I’m not the ecchi blogger! Or if I am, I’m certainly not the ecchi author, because Wage Slave Rebellion has little fanservice of the flashing-panties-and-accidental-boob-grab variety. That’s fun and all, but I respect my characters too much to exploit them like that. I prefer strong female characters who are people in their own right, and once you start thinking of them as more than outlets for male fantasies, it’s hard to slap bunny ears on them without feeling like a slimeball. There is some fanservice—both male and female characters, so ladies, you haven’t been left out!—but it always has a purpose beyond titillation.

Q: Who’s your publisher?

A: I don’t have one. This book is independently published, or what you might call self-published. I never even submitted it to any publishers, because I don’t think they’re necessary. I have this thing about control and creative compromise, and I didn’t want a publisher standing between me and my readers. But if you’re worried about quality, don’t be—this book has been professionally edited (by multiple editors), professionally formatted, and professionally illustrated.

Q: How come this book is so cheap?

A: That’s one of the benefits of independent publishing—because a bunch of executives in New York aren’t taking 50+% of my profits, I can price my book how I want. I picked $3.99 for the ebook so you can get an entertaining story for less than a fancy coffee or a pint of expensive beer. Plus I don’t have to print off copies or ship them to you, so why shouldn’t it be priced fairly? Then there’s the sequel short story, which is available for as much as you want to pay for it, including free. Isn’t the future cool?

Q: I found a mistake! What do I do?

A: If you find a mistake, feel free to email me at stephenwgee(at)gmail(dot).com, and I’ll get it fixed and updated across all platforms.

Q: Amazon is an evil corporation! Where else can I buy your book?

A: I’m working on making it available on Smashwords as well, which will also distribute the book to Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other ebook retailers around the world. I still encourage you to buy from Amazon, though. Whatever your feelings about the company, it treats independent authors very well (Ex: Amazon pays authors monthly, while other companies pay quarterly). Buying through Amazon is the best way to support me. For updates on when Wage Slave Rebellion is available on Smashwords and other ebook retailers, sign up for my newsletter. I’ll also edit this post at that time.

Q: I don’t like ebooks. When will a print copy be available?

A: Get with the times man, ebooks are the future! But in all seriousness, a print-on-demand version through Amazon’s CreateSpace is on the way. My hope is to have it done within the month, mid-January at the latest. For updates on when Wage Slave Rebellion is available in print, sign up for my newsletter. I’ll also edit this post at that time. (Note: All short stories will be available in ebook only until a compilation volume is created. More information here.)

Q: Can I share this ebook with my friends?

A: Go ahead. All my ebooks are DRM-free, because DRM is bullshit. I would, of course, prefer if you don’t create a torrent and share it with the whole world (though I doubt you’d get many downloads right now), but sharing it between your friends and family is perfectly fine.

Q: I don’t want to deal with exchange rates. Can I buy this in my own currency?

If you can’t make a purchase from one of the Amazon sites above, that may be because Amazon doesn’t sell ebooks there, due to local laws and/or restrictions (ex: China, the Middle East). You can get around this in two ways. One, you can switch the country your kindle account is tied to in order to make a purchase, though if your address and credit card are still in your country of residence, you may be blocked. Two, you can buy the book from me directly with this link.

Q: Will this be available in language other than English? How about as an audiobook?

A: Not at this time. Translations, along with audiobooks, are hurdles I’ve yet to tackle. If I get some measure of success then I’ll look into that, but I need to focus on the English versions for now.

Q: Why are there only four chapters?

A: As my favorite author Terry Pratchett once said: “life does not happen in regular chapters, nor do movies, and Homer did not write in chapters.” I find them to be unnecessary stopping points that get in the way of the story, when my readers are perfectly capable of deciding when to take a break themselves. The divisions I do use, which I call Adventures (Adv for short), are more like episodes or acts in a play. I decided to use those primarily so my short stories can use the same numbering scheme (Ex: Adventure 5: Action Politics), to avoid confusion in the series chronology.

Q: This isn’t about anime. Why are you posting about this on an anime site?

A: I’ve been working on this book for a long time, and because I wanted to tell all of you first, Divine was gracious enough to let me make this post. I promise I won’t try to turn Random Curiosity into my personal marketing platform or anything. I will not be making special posts for any future short stories or novels. If you want to keep up with my work, sign up for my newsletter, go to my website stephenwgee.com, or follow my personal twitter @stephenwgee. I’m also on Goodreads, though I don’t totally know what to do with it yet.

Q: How do you pronounce your name?

A: Stephen as in Stephen King or Stephen Hawking, and Gee as in McGee without the Mc, or the same as a karate gi. And yes, that’s my real name. You can keep calling me Stilts though, because my friends call me that in person too.

Q: I saw your picture at the end of the book. I can see why you’re nicknamed Stilts now. How tall are you?

A: 6’7″, or 200cm. I used to be even skinnier too. I … forget to stop writing and eat sometimes.

Q: Anything else you’d like to say?

A: It was my birthday last Monday (Dec 8th), and my anniversary with RandomC is coming up on January 1st. Will you consider buying a book as a combination birthday/anniversary gift? Please? Pretty please? All right, I’ll stop.

Q: Where can I learn more about your work?

A: Other than the Amazon page and my website, I just did an interview over at the book blog Little Red Reviewer, whose owner I met through RandomC reader and commenter, Mike (Hi, Mike!). Also, you have the author right here, so ask away. Though please avoid posting spoilers, for the benefit of other readers. Since it’s utterly impossible for me to be spoiled, I’ll be patrolling the comments pretty heavily to keep those locked down.

Q: What’s next for Firesign?

A: I have more short stories planned for the immediate future. After that, I’ll pull all those short stories into a compilation volume, and it will be time for the next full-length novel!

Q: What if this one doesn’t sell well? Will you keep writing?

A: There are two types of writers: those who would like to write books, and those who can’t not. I’m in the latter category. I’m too stubborn to stop, so if I’m at all able, I will finish this series, and it will have an end, though I’ve got a lot planned for it first. In three years at RandomC I’ve only ever dropped one series, so you know I don’t give up easily. But there may come a time when a deafening lack of success might wear me down too much, so if you enjoy this book, help me get the word out. That will help me keep writing more.

Q: Do you have other stories planned?

A: Oh my, yes. One thing at a time, though.

Q: Is there any other way I can help?

A: Tell your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, acquaintances, enemies, and any strangers who look like they might enjoy it. Amazon reviews are really helpful, and I would be thrilled to get them. Sign up for my newsletter, RSS to my website, become my fan on Goodreads, and/or follow my personal twitter to keep up on new releases. Keep being awesome. Thank you.

Thank you to Divine and the other writers for letting me make this post, and for letting me keep it stickied until the season preview comes out. You rock!

Stilts

They call me the big boss. The nerd king. The tall one. That weird dude who did those crazy Kyoukaisen posts. But you may call me Stilts-oniichama. When I'm not writing about anime or publishing my silly fantasy novels, I'm probably cooking, sampling craft beer, lusting over new board games, or playing entirely too much Overwatch.

Between Maoyuu and Log Horizon, I would claim Touno Mamare as an influence, had I not come across his work after I was almost done with this book! (or at least, on my umpteenth draft) So call him a kindred spirit.

If you liked either of those stories (well, maybe not the shifty anime adaptation Maoyuu got, but the source material or manga, certainly), then there’s a good chance you’ll like my book. It’s not as far ranging as Maouyuu and Loghora in scope (yet…? Ufufu~), but there are thematic similarities to be sure.

Pffft, the names are perfectly pronounceable. “Maz-ick Kill-ray-us”. And all politics are goofy!

Totally guilty on the extra k’s though. You found me out, shoot! Orz

Just playing around 😀 It honestly doesn’t bother me if anyone passes. I’d rather have the people who are enthusiastic reading it, and not try to force everyone else. Thank you for checking out the post.

I may have kermit flailed. I may still be kermit flailing. We may never know.

*kermit flail*

And the interview was a little stressful! Mostly because I had 15,532 things to do before release, and balancing them all was driving me slightly batty, lol. But after years of nobody wanting to hear about this phantom “book” I was always working on, it was nice to have someone actually interested 😀

What we were talking about. I did an interview! Also, if anyone is interested in learning more about great books to read, definitely check in with Andrea. She’s super smart and super cool. Mike is okay too 😀

I have been following your blog and was wondering when its finally gonna be the time, once your first novel is gonna come out. And finally the time is here. Almost hard to believe. I know this is an important time for you. It has been an exciting ride with you thus far, as I enjoy your way of blogging and writing about philosophy and what not.
The whole concept of the novel sounds fantastic and I believe you have done a great job by self publishing it.
You have my whole hearted support, as Im also interested in writing and just any awesome fantasy itself.
In all honesty, Im curious what else you are gonna have in store for us and I hope you will stay much longer with us on randomc.

Thank you for all the hard work and passion you put into being an author, anime fan, human.
I wish the very best to you and that all your dreams as an author shall be fulfilled, while we are gonna enjoy all of your stories!

I read the prologue preview, and I think the possibilities of it as a Kinetic Novel isn’t that bad.
It sort of reminds me of two visual novels I read through Steam recently; World End Economica Episode 01 (by author of Spice & Wolf) and Dysfunctional Systems Episode 01: Learning to Manage Chaos

I had never heard of kinetic novels before. Interesting. In this case it’s just a novel, though … it only has a few illustrations (cover art + four chapter illustrations in the book, one chapter illustration for the short story).

First time seeing those names. But on recennt stuff, I would recommend Fault Milestone One. Just released on Steam, and one of the best KNs I’ve read so far, with a nice soundtrack to go with it. I’ve even put a review there. Its part one of a series though…

I list my editors on each book’s page on my website, along the right side, because to say they were instrumental in helping me whip this thing into shape is an understatement. I worked with Jim Thomsen and Christina Tinling, both who I found through referrals. I also had an alpha reader and beta readers, who are mostly friends/acquaintances who I knew had good taste.

For formatting, I used Polgarus Studios. I worked with Jason and Marina, who are awesome, and were a big help to my newbie butt. Highly recommended.

For the illustrators, I used a place called Atreyu Studios out of Brazil. I found them by posting an ad on Deviantart, as per the exalted STEREOMAN’s suggestion. (Thanks Stereo <3)

If you’d like to know more, feel free to send me an email at stephenwgee(at)gmail(dot)com and we can talk further.

But in all honesty; congratulations! I’ve seen a dear friend release a fantasy novel for teenagers in the past year and now I get this deja-vu feeling like never before. Just promise not to move away from your blogging ‘duties’ (because you will be dragged back to them, like it or not)

Honestly, it took longer for someone to make the joke than I anticipated XD And I was going more for Stephen Merchant… Damn!

References to King don’t bother me, though. I’m not a huge fan of his work, not being a horror guy myself, but I respect him. If I can learn to build characters and convey emotion like he does, I’ll be a happy man.

And no worries, I don’t have any plans to disappear. I have too much fun writing for you all to give it up quite yet.

Ordering this the moment I can get over my bias against ebooks. Or maybe before I can.
(It’s more about me not knowing than disliking, to be honest)
As an alternative, I guess I could try for being the first European to have a printed copy of it 😀

And since everyone else will handle the Western author references and jokes, I’ll start with more anime-related one:
May you reach Kawakami-level of awesome. The man has written about 50 books before turning 40.
How about that for a benchmark? :3

I’d honestly suggest giving an ebook a shot, even if it’s not mine. It’s not that I don’t understand why some people prefer the feeling of a physical book, but the benefits of being able to sync across multiple devices, carry an entire library in your pocket, have less clutter in your house/apartment, and being able to buy muuuuch cheaper books (or they should be … some publishers are assholes, but my ebooks will be $3-4, while print versions will have to be more like $10-12) all outweigh the tactile benefits of paper to me.

Of course, my opinions are somewhat tinged by being an author (I get to call myself that now, yay!), where ebooks are the cheapest and quickest way to get my stories out there. Instead of having to go through a publisher, I get to do it all myself, and I don’t have to worry about print runs, maintaining stock, or anything like that.

So I wholeheartedly suggest you give them a shot. If you’re going to grab my book either way, it doesn’t matter which way you go to me, because I’ll make about the same either way. I just like ebooks a lot myself! (Plus the sequel short story will only be in ebook for a while, and there will be more after it.)

Well, it can’t be about preferring physical books, since I’ve been reading manga for over ten years and light novels for little over a year online now. Often from the iphone’s too small to comfortably read anything lengthy screen too.
I honestly don’t know what the issue is. I would call it being against change if I wasn’t typically for change. Maybe it’s related to the fact I only heard about kindle for the first time last month, so things haven’t sank in yet.
You certainly do make ebooks sound alluring. Being a marketer has its good sides :3

Yeah, sounds about right.
The anxiety is eased a lot by looking at all the books I could get I couldn’t before because of over-filled bookshelf or not finding the book from local bookstore. Or because of the higher cost. Or because I didn’t know the book existed. etc. etc.

Ahaha, I’m not talking about absolute lies so much as telling stories, which are a kind of truth manufacture in the same way a map or my very own book are. Mostly I just like joking around that I’m a professional liar, though, nishishi~ >:3

I will probably get the e-book soon. But as someone who is a hazard to carried electronic devices, I kill my cell phones sooner or later by dropping them,and dedicated bathroom reader I have a strong preference to the paper form. I can’t afford to drop a reader in water or get them damp :). But I have been reading books for 40 years so I’m used to the flexible paper feel reading on a tablet does not cut it when I have a choice. Probably will get your on e-book don’t want to wait but probably will get a paper copy as well as long as I like it as I like to reread things.

Someone obviously made an effort in writing this post, so I did read everything till the end. I dont care that this post isnt about anime, even if you did turn this blog into your own marketing platform just a little bit;) It was a nice read, and you’ve been talking about your book all the time, so its only natural to see the conclusion in this post.
I personally dont know anyone who writes professionally, so it would be interesting to read a book where you’ve “known” the author before you knew is book. But Im from Europe, and I tend to avoid paying with other curriencies other than with our shitty Euro…though Id really like to give it a try…

(Though I cant judge much yet) heres my critique 😉 The prologue started with “he said , he said, he said..” And I didnt like the book description either (I dont mean the content). Sounded kind of “flat”. So the first impression was more “meh” than anything else. But first impression was wrong cause the writing style is much better than the first sentences and the book description made me believe. Though there were some forced “smooth” moments imo ;), the prologue was written in a way that it was really easy to see the scene come alive before your own inner eye.
But your author description on amazon gave me the same impression as I had in the beginning. Imo it sounds way too unprofessional, too childish and Id expect to read an amateur story when your style is obviously better than that…But I might be influenced by the books I (must) read for my studies at university. So, maybe thats just me.

Anyways, I like your writing style, although the premise isnt exactly what I normally find intriguing. I would still give it a try, but Im really inexperienced in this Euro-Dollar-thing…

Thanks for the critiques. I’ve been playing with my Amazon author description in particular, and I’m still not really satisfied with it, so I think I’ll take your advice and revisit it.

As for using the euro, no problem there. I gave the .com version because that’s where most of the blog’s readership comes from (plus everyone can presumably read English), but you can easily pull it up on your country’s version of Amazon by replacing the .com with the appropriate domain. For example: France, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, & Germany. (Also, UK, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, Japan…) That’s one of the many perks of offering it through Amazon.

It’s crazy to think that when I first came to to this site almost three years ago in 2012 and seeing your coverage of Highschool DxD that I would be super excited to read a book by the great Ecchi writer himself, Stilts. Even if you are a blogger of an awesome site as this, I feel like you’re important to this fanbase of people who love reading what you type on the internet, so I can’t help but want to support. Honestly, thanks for the ton of content you’re pushing out, and I’m trying to get my hands on it right now if I can somehow get past Amazon’s region restrictions. You did something awesome here, and one of the things I love most in this world is unfolding a great story no matter what medium it’s presented in. I’m happy for you Stilts, and I wish you the very best in your first true venture as an author. Congratulations, Stephen Gee.

Thank you so much! I’m really happy to get your, and everybody’s, support. Now I really, truly get to call myself an author ;_; Though I’ve got to keep writing to keep deserving it, nyahaha!

Check out my reply to Libélula’s comment above for other versions of the Amazon site you can order the book through, and tell me if you keep having problems. If so, I’ll figure something out. Thanks again!

I checked into this. My understanding is that, due to some local laws/restrictions, and to avoid people from manipulating exchange rates, Amazon restricts ebooks so they can only be bought from the site your kindle is linked to. So since the country on my kindle is the US, I can only buy from Amazon.com.

There are two options. One, you can switch the country your kindle account is tied to in order to make a purchase, though if your address and credit card are still in your country of residence, you may be blocked. Two, you can buy the book from me directly with this link.

And if one of those don’t work, email me at stephenwgee(at)gmail(dot)com. If you want to read my book, I’ll get it to you somehow.

I’ll try to have some of my friends buy a copy or two, so I can have it if your suggested methods don’t work. If neither doesn’t turn out okay, I’ll email you. Thanks for the support, Stilts. You’re really passionate about getting your work out there.

How can I not support a man who is managing to accomplish my own dream, and whose encouragements and quotes and posts about it have kept me from giving up on it, even in the times when life has kept me from making progress? Purchased, of course. 🙂

I said it before, but I’ll send you my congratulations yet again (cause you deserve it!). I can tell how much passion you’ve put into this, so enjoy the moment! I’m looking forward to giving this a read~

I can certainly sacrifice a daily coffee or two to support your dream, and this looks like something I’d find interesting. Gonna have to wait a bit to actually read it though, last thing I need during finals is a time-draining book 😛

Congrats, Stilts. Your posts on your writing blog have been quite insightful, especially since I’m also an aspiring author. I’ll be quite honest in that I do feel a twinge of jealousy but I am also earnestly happy that you have fulfilled your dream (and every hopeful writer’s dream). Writing a novel is a difficult and absorbing task (physically, mentally, and emotionally), and no matter how much you prepare yourself, it’s not really easy to put it out there for others to read and analyze. So I commend you for your courage.

Where many other writers have failed, you have succeeded, so I hope that you continue to write and write to your heart’s content, as well as continue to publish your works to share with all of us.

Domo, domo. And don’t worry—I’ve stood where you were before, watching someone else publish while I was still flailing. Jealousy is natural. Hell, I wrote a post about it before, and even publishing that was scary. So don’t worry. You’ll get there, as long as you keep working. Thanks for stopping by : )

Finally! And congrats, Stilts.
I made my first post here at RanomC years ago, just to thank you for having done such a wonderful work with Kyoukaisen. I instantly realized you had potential as a writer, and since then, I’ve been waiting for your book to be finished.
I know it’ll probably be more difficult for me to read your novel than to read your posts here (as you can easily tell by my sometimes odd phrasing, English is not my primary language – it’s Italian by the way) but I can take this chance and improve my skills in the process.

I always wanted to be an author myself but life has been kicking my ass left and right. I’m glad to see that someone was able to pull off my dream. Maybe I’ll hang in there a little more and hope that I’ll be able to pull it off just like you.

Nyahaha, sorry about the lack of a loli. I wouldn’t even begin to know how to write a true loli. Now a legal loli (or more likely, a pettanko gal) might show up eventually. We’ll see. I have a lot of plans in mind.

I also wonder if Gavi Ven’Kalil, the strong female non fanserviced deuteragonist I see over on the cover, had some inspiration from FMA in the form of Riza Hawkseye. After all, the lieutenant herself is reliable, strong, and can also hold her own in some badass action.

There are actually similarities between them, now that I think about it, though they were’t planned. Gavi is far more of a partner in crime than a follower like Riza. Also, she’s less of a hardass, haha!

I actually do have a character partially influenced by Riza, it just isn’t Gavi. Though with the blonde hair and the badassity (you’ll see!), I can see where you’re coming from 😀

Congratulations Stilts! Finishing and publishing a novel is no small accomplishment! It must be satisfying to complete the first part in your journey towards becoming a full time author after spending so much time and effort.

Personally, I don’t do the e-book thing. Either “archaic” paper & ink or the occasional PDF on the PC for me. So I’ll have to wait for the hard copy or figure out a work-around to view an e-book on PC (probably some freeware mod for that – usually is). Lastly, “If you can’t relate to their struggle, you’re a luckier person than I.” And I as well. I can relate. All too well.

You’re certainly welcome to wait for the print version. It’ll take a little longer, due to my inexperience, but it should be out soon(ish).

If you want to read it on the PC though, that’s easily done. You can download the Kindle PC viewing app (use this link to go straight to the PC one … that will start the download immediately) to read it on your PC.

Then it may not be for you, which is perfectly fine. I’ve never claimed to be a critic though, even if I do indulge in it from time to time. From my blogging philosophy to my blurb on the About page, I’ve always preferred entertainer to critic, impressions to judgments. This is just another facet of my desire to make people’s lives just a little bit more entertaining.

First of all, Amazon offers higher royalties for books between $2.99-$9.99, so that was the range I started with.

I decided to keep the price modest because I don’t think ebooks should be expensive—I want a lot of people to read it, and it’s easier to do that when it doesn’t cost as much. So I asked myself, what would make me want to buy this book? Because if the pricing didn’t work on me, it wouldn’t work on others.

To me, $3.99 is a good mix between cheap (I pay that much or more for a pint of nice beer at a bar) and valuing the work I did (a book that’s too cheap starts to sound shady. Like … is it not worth more than that? Is it not that good?). It seemed right to me, so I went with it.

I’ll probably play with the price on this or future volumes though, and see if I can’t find the sweet spot.

Many people talk about what they’re going to do and set lofty goals filled with grandeur. Only a fraction of those actually accomplish them.

For that, congratulations.

Even if it doesn’t sell a whole bunch, you should be proud of yourself just for that. (That’s not to say you should be satisfied with just that, obviously.)

Now I just have the problem of slotting it into my backlog. Do I give special treatment since I know the author (well… as much as knowing someone over the internet can be considered knowing, but you get my drift) and slot it ahead of the works of some of the big hitters like George R.R. Martin, Rothfuss, Weeks, Abercrombie, etc? (Yes, I know, what have I been reading all this time? Haha)

Seeing it through to the end? What do you mean? This is just the beginning.

(…did that sound cool?)

Sorry, couldn’t resist! XD Thank you very much *bows* I am proud for having fought through the dip, because now, even if I don’t sell a lot, I’ve still put myself much closer than those who never finish. Which feels really good!

And of course you should give it special treatment! :X Though of course I would say that. In your shoes I always think to myself “What am I most excited about?”, and whatever that is, I read it. Then, if something keeps missing the cut, I’ll make myself read just a little of it to see if I’d actually like it. No idea where my book would fit in there for you, but you should totally pick a copy up now, just in case XD

“It’s kind of like Terry Pratchett spliced with a badass action anime.”….SOLD!!!!!
I’m copping it right now dude!! if there also a nice dose of HUMOR, i should be in for a treat…
PLAYER! NEVER GIVE UP YOUR DREAM BRO!! i could appreciate what your doing, and using Random C as a tool…..hehe, more power to you man…….i wish you Success!

Out of curiosity, who were you thinking about when you made Mazick? I like his personality. It reminds me a little of Favaro from Bahamut, but that’s a more recent anime so it probably isn’t that one. Maybe Dresden?

Also, I notice your female character is wearing a skirt and what appears to be a dress shirt. Is that just for the cover? Because it looks kind of impractical. Why would a sword wielder and adventurer run around in a skirt?

Mazik is a mix of a lot of people, but the largest component is my older brother. Any resemblance to Harry Dresden is incidental … I actually never read a Dresden Files book until a few months ago, though I just finished Proven Guilty last night.

As for the cover, I was afraid of that! What I was trying to go for didn’t come through very well, but I figured I’d just roll with it. I was trying to portray the mix of their jobs (salesman, waiter, and healer … nurse, basically) and the adventuring aspect by putting them in half their professional clothing, half their combat clothing. So Gavi is wearing her waiter clothing, but holding a sword.

Like I said, it didn’t come out as well as I wanted to. Trust me, Gavi isn’t the type to fight in a skirt if she can avoid it.

I really want to read it, but I’ve never bought anything online before and all these is really confusing me. I don’t have a credit card (never bothered) but I’ll beg my mother for hers if I have to, but I think I’ll wait for the printed version too. I don’t seem to be able to buy the ebook version (This title is not currently available for purchase? or am I at the wrong page, idk) but I’ll find a way to get the printed version once it’s out 😛 Congratulations!

If it’s giving you a not available message, you may be region-locked, which is an annoyingly little thing they do in some countries that I didn’t know about until today. If you’re in one of the follow regions/countries, make sure you’re using the right version of Amazon for starters: US, UK, CA, FR, DE, IT, NL, ESAU, BR, IN, JP, MX. If none of those work, you can buy directly via this link. I think that can use credit card or most debit cards, though don’t hold me to that.

If you’d prefer to wait for the print version though, that’s totally cool. Those shouldn’t be region locked, so you should be okay then! (Hopefully, lol) Sign up for my newsletter, follow me on twitter, check back on this post, or just keep an eye on the little blurbs I add at the end of most of my episodic posts so you’ll know when the print version is out. Thanks <4

Now allow me to go off tangent. Is this post right here really necessary?

I’ve been a regular patron of this site since Omni has been around and this site had the animeblogger web domain. But as far as I know this is the first time this kind of self-serving advertising post came up.

Granted, randomc has always had a colorful array of posts. Coverage of regular shows or manga aside; announcements of a Writer’s entry or departure are perfectly fine. Coverage of an anime event is okay as well. Reviews of a game or Anime OSTs are very much welcome too. And the podcasts? Sure, well why the hell not? Hell, The annual best of ___, Natrone’s posts about creativity, Jaalin’s mad ramblings and even your own personal blog posts about tropes and how anime goes are still quite appreciated in this site.

But there is a certain aspect that binds all those posts in randomc together: It’s still about the anime, manga or japanese culture that the patrons of this site are so fond of. And I honestly can’t see how your book fits in all of that.

I understand that the web traffic this site gets makes it a very enticing prospect for advertising your book. But really, can’t you just restrict these kind of things to a personal site of yours or maybe add a short paragraph announcing your book to one of your regular posts? You already have a fair enough following online. Please use other channels to advertise your book. Even your short addendum in the FAQs offers little justification. Last time I checked, this site is for discussing whatever anime/manga/japan related things. Randomc is not exactly a place to market one’s own endeavors.

Honestly, I understand where you’re coming from. You come here to talk about anime, so anything else is a distraction from what RandomC is to you. So I’ll ask you to kindly overlook this. I’ve said I won’t make it a habit, and because nobody else on the RC staff has, to my knowledge, written a book and is set to publish it, you can safely assume more posts like this won’t appear.

But please know that I didn’t do this without permission. Divine is still the owner of this site, and he told me I could make this post. Twice. I then asked every single writer on staff whether it was okay with them, and every single one told me to post it, enthusiastically.

Like I said, I get it. This place is for anime, and you think all of us should write about anime all the time. (Except when we don’t. That post also had Divine’s permission, by the way.) And we do, happily. We are anime bloggers. To you, that’s who we are.

But we’re more than that, and I wanted to show everyone how passionate I was about this. By the feedback I’ve gotten, most people haven’t minded. So I ask you to kindly overlook my selfishness. To you it’s an imposition, but others seem to appreciate it. I’ll happily spend much of my time in the “anime blogger” box, but now at least you know I’m an author too, and I got to tell the community which has helped me so much about this first.

A long time lurker but a big fan of your opinion in anime, just wanted to say congratulations! I’ve been trying to get something off the ground myself and I know what a huge task it was to finally get it done and out there. Just wanted to say congratulations and looking forward to reading your work!

I hope you know that when Omni started this blog, it was meant to discuss anime but he also shared a lot of things with us that were not anime related because he wanted to. Div has also posted many things that aren’t anime-centric because well… I’m sure they have other interests outside of anime. It’s just that over time, people have found RC to be a community for anime viewers and they see it as informative site or place to chat. However, the core of this site is still a “blog” and Stilts is a writer on this “blog”. I think it’s only appropriate that he shares this pivotal moment in his life with us. Launching a book is not easy and if RC helped him get there, then I’m happy for him =)

Congratulations on finishing your book! I like your writing style, think it’s a good fit for a fantasy novel, but I’m less convinced about the story. I think it lacks a hook. From the synopsis I’ve read it sounds a little bit too typical (generic) and straightforward. I hope somewhere along the line there is a plot-twist, an emotional gripping event or at least something that changes the dynamics of the premise and you could give us a bit of foreshadowing about it in the summary.

You know, writing a description is actually pretty hard, and it’s a different kind of hard than writing the book. (One I’m less practiced and well-suited to, since I haven’t done it before and I’m better at long copy sales than short copy.) You have to balance enticing people in with not spoiling too much of the plot, or else you could ruin the very experience you’re trying to get them to enjoy. That, plus trying to speak in the vernacular of your genre while simultaneously transcending it is hard.

What I’m trying to say is, I’m not satisfied with it yet either, so thank you for the critique. A lot of the narrative is relatively straightforward—after all, it’s an adventure, not a mystery—though there are twists and turns later on that are a lot of fun. They’re just in the second half of the narrative, so I can’t spoil them!

I encourage you to check it out since I have you here, and I’ll go back to work on the description and try to implement your suggestion. Thanks!

I’m not a writer or a ecchi fan in particular by the way. There were just one to two things that had me thinking when I read that answer from the F&Q. Do you dislike only certain ecchi things like panty shots and boob grabs? Are those what you consider something bad when you use them on characters? How do you feel about certain manga/shows that do that then? Do you enjoy them as a viewer but have different opinions on them as a writer?

I was just a little confused when reading the answers since I thought you generally liked ecchi shows and all but then I saw some negative opinions about it from your perspective as a writer.

“A: I-I’m not the ecchi blogger! Or if I am, I’m certainly not the ecchi author, because Wage Slave Rebellion has little fanservice of the flashing-panties-and-accidental-boob-grab variety. That’s fun and all, but I respect my characters too much to exploit them like that. I prefer strong female characters who are people in their own right, and once you start thinking of them as more than outlets for male fantasies, it’s hard to slap bunny ears on them without feeling like a slimeball. There is some fanservice—both male and female characters, so ladies, you haven’t been left out!—but it always has a purpose beyond titillation.”

It’s not that I’m against fanservice, it’s just different when they’re your own characters. Have you ever heard a writer talk about how their characters write themselves? There’s some undeniable truth to that. When I approach a scene, I don’t think “What do I want Mazik to do here?”. I think “What would Mazik do here?”. And sure, if I don’t like where his natural actions take the story, I’ll change things around … but I won’t change his reactions. I’ll change the situation which he’s reacting to.

To me, these characters are as close to people as fictional characters can get. So I have to respect them. Throwing in a Gavi panty shot would feel wrong not because panty shots are wrong, but because I know her, and just as I would not exploit my female friends like that, I don’t want to exploit her. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to put them through the wringer, because I want to tell a compelling story, but I’ll never exploit them.

I can’t talk to them. They’re not real like that. But I know what they would say, and in a way, they’re inside my brain. So I have to respect them.

Does that make sense? It’s totally different when you’re the creator, I think, though a certain part of it is also the author teaching their audience to respect their characters, or teaching them that it’s okay not to. And in my case, I would have anyone who reads my book respect my characters as I do, if at all possible.

I don’t have anyone I know personally that is a writer so this is all new to me. I never once thought of characters this way when it comes to writing. Whenever I do daydream of some kind of story I really don’t mind having characters bend to my ideas. That’s why I wouldn’t mind panty shots on a character I thought up. Reading what you said made me feel bad about it. I guess this was never a problem that I thought about since I have never tried actually making a full on story.

Is this way of writing characters something all writers go by?

Thanks for answering. I eventually do hope to be able to make some kind of a story in the future so this gives me something to think about.

There’s no real reason to feel bad about it. Fiction is fiction, and if someone doesn’t set out to create characters in the same way I have—or if they don’t find an occasional ecchi mishap to be disrespectful, and they don’t necessarily have to be, though that line is faint—then it’s understandable. It’s just my way of doing things.

And I don’t know how other writers do it. I’ve only spoken to a couple about this, and only read maybe a dozen speak to it. I don’t think my way is uncommon, but it’s certainly not the only way, not by a long shot. I can think of multiple anime (for example, since this is a predominately anime site) where I don’t think the author operates like that.

I just happened to come across this particular post. Very nice insight. I’ve been working on an outline for my own story for a while now and it is indeed tough to do certain things to your own characters. In especially tragic stories, in order to make your characters stronger they have to suffer and make sacrifices. But the process of doing that hurts REALLY bad whenever I write scenarios like that. Especially when it happens to characters you’ve imbedded with your own personal issues/faults. Don’t even get me started on killing them off…….that’s so much harder than I thought it would be =/.

As for fanservice insertions I actually have to admit my dirty mind has often tried to insert those moments from time to time (I’m only human!). But I only end up keeping them if I can actually justify it existing. If there is some sort of plot/character advancement during those parts I think that they are perfectly fine BUT the fanservice should never be overbearing in the sense you forget what was even important in that particular scene. That’s where the line of disrespecting your characters can end up being crossed in my opinion.

Yes, that’s it exactly! It’s not that fanservice is bad, it just needs to have a purpose within the story. Same thing with hurting or killing characters. I’ll do it—you have to do it, if you want to show what your characters are made of—but I wouldn’t pile pain on them merely for the sake of it, or it becomes violence porn. It needs to have a reason.

It truly is hard to kill off characters. It’s hard to even contemplate it. It hurts to consider cutting short a life you’ve come to know so well, even when it’s one you created in your mind and on the page.

We’re funny creatures, us humans. It’s a wonder we ever get anything done.

Thanks for the post Stilts! I have been reading your posts for as long as you have been writing here and will definitely support your book.

I also completely disagree with Crazyguy and Mi-Mi-Mikuru. I think many people enjoy blogs not just because of the general subject matter, but also from getting to know the personality of the author. When i know more about you, i care more about what you have to say, and enjoy your posts more. That is why people introduce themselves when they start writing here rather than just starting writing. It brings more life to the blog!

Anyway, basically what i am trying to say is i am proud of your achievement and am glad you shared it here! Definitely going to check it out!

*bows* Thank you. I’ve always had a more personality and impression-driven blogging style (and podcasting style, for that matter), which I know some people don’t like, but I’m not going to be able to do dispassionate well, so screw it! Best to stick with what you love, eh? 😀

@nishishi
I agree with you. I enjoy RC not only for the awesome/timely coverage, but also because of the personal touch and sense of community. When I read the posts, I keep in mind who the author is for each post and their style/preferences. I think its great that staff supports Stilts’ debut and gave him the approval to share it here. I come to Random Curiousity to hear about random interesting things, whether its light novels, music, voice actors, annoucements, T-shirts, cons, and all sorts of topics, so I think an announcement about a new fantasy novel is like this is good too. As a long time reader, when a hard-working blogger of the RC community takes a step toward his/her dreams, I feel happy about that and feel that its proper for it to be celebrated here.

I’m not familiar with Asia Book. I am planning on distributing via Smashwords, but I don’t see Asia Books as one of their partners. If you’re sick of Amazon, you can either wait and get it via Smashwords, or you can buy it directly from me via this link. Thanks!

Congrats Stilts on your debut! I checked out the preview from Amazon, and I can really feel your blood, sweat, and tears in the book and in this post. The story synopsis sounds interesting, so I’ll be sure to take a longer look.

I’m inspired by you following your dreams and wish you the best of luck!

Congrats Stilts on taking your dream by its horns. If I could make these suggestions to your blurb: Remove the mention of anime and reference instead another author/book with similar action beats. For marketing purposes — to reach a wider potential audience. Also, consider omitting the exclamation marks used — it’s a tad inelegant in blurb writing. At most keep the last one.

Like I mentioned in some other comments, writing a good description is a strange beast, and I’ve been playing with it. I actually already got rid of most of the exclamation marks in my new draft, so good suggestion, haha!

I’m still thinking on the anime reference. Sometimes it’s best to risk alienating some to excite others, but I’m not sure whether this is one of those situations or not. I’ll work on that more, though I’m thinking I’ll take your advice. It’s something to try out, see how it works.

I know where you’re coming from and I don’t necessarily disagree. Anime and manga are obviously big influences on your story, and it’s only natural you’d want to share their impact with people. Pratchett + The Hobbit + anime IS an interesting hook. But whether it’s an effective one on a more conservative platform like Amazon is another thing. Personally I think it’s better served mentioned (and given room to expand on) on your website.

“Pulse-pounding combat of badass action anime” is also a little vague, especially in contrast to the concrete Pratchett and Hobbit references. Anyway, I’m just a well-wisher, and I’ve already said plenty. It’s your book and your prerogative after all. I trust it’s in good hands 🙂

Yeah, I think you’re right. Now I’m just trying to think of a good book to liken the action to. I’m not sure I’ve ever read one who does the kind of martial/magick combat I write, or if I have, I’m not thinking of it right now. Hmmm…

They’re not any better, they’re just stronger and more competent. They might be better at certain things, like beating someone else or getting certain things done, but that doesn’t make them intrinsically better as human beings. Which is to say, everyone deserves their human rights and a certain degree of respect, though any respect past that can certainly be dolled out based on achievements, competence, etc.

But no, I don’t much go into my personal philosophy in the book, save for where it’s naturally reflected in the world. (For example, there’s more gender equality in the story’s setting than there is in our world, if only because women are equally capable of becoming spellcasters who are capable of terrifying feats of violence. I do try to justify these things.) Mostly it’s an action-adventure with drinking, explosions, funny banter, stuff like that.

Tread that line of thinking and you’ll end up with social parasites who bitch about their rights and even demand preferential treatment over hardworking and talented people. Of course, that only works in times of overabundance, when the going gets tough, the rhetoric of former supporters changes.
In fantasy stories, living a life usually isn’t a walk in the park, so if that sort of philosophy were to spill onto pages, it would be nothing but a delusion. That said, gender equality is obviously understandable in a world with magic/technology. If you put world consistency before personal beliefs, then the things might be better than expected.

Stilts, you are awesome. I’m a senior in high school, and just knowing that my favorite anime blogger works so hard at his dream has long inspired me to do so myself. Thank you for adding your story to the world; I can’t wait to read it!

Just got to “Adventure Two”! I read manuals and articles all the time but haven’t read a novel in years (maybe almost a decade o.O). It’s been quite an enjoyable ride thus far and can not wait to finished!

There is one thing I’ve found a bit… odd I guess how parts of the story develop that has been used and handful of times already. But I’ll finish it before I say anything since there’s probably a rhyme and reason for it later on! 😀 Could just be that “cinematic” feel! lol

Feel free to give me a critique when you’re done. There may be a reason for what you saw (I didn’t quite understand what you meant), but this is my first published novel, so as much as I’d like to act like a rockstar, I may have just screwed up XD Thanks for reading!

Hey, I just wanted to say good on you for following your passions. I have been long dreaming on creating my own stories and even delved into flash animation a lot back in high school. I used to draw and practice animating 24/7 so I can find an outlet for my stories to take form. It just reminded me of the passion I somehow lost when I drowned myself in my studies.

I think this came at a good time…I’m almost at my mid twenties and I am starting my masters in Computer Engineering and on my way to becoming a wage slave. Reading your personal story and the story of these three characters might propel me to find my own adventure. I hope maybe down the line I can create either an online manga or a VN and remember what it’s like to be excited for something I do.

As someone who is past his mid-twenties, it could be that I’m just a little bit ahead of you, if that’s what you want. It’s all up to how hard you work, how smart you work, how much you learn, what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve your dream.

I hope my book does help, and it fun to read too : ) Thanks, and you too!

Been visiting this site daily since it started, and since there was a way to support one of the writers I purchased your book. I look forward to reading it and continuing to read the great reviews on this site.

In any case, it definitely sounds interesting, and I’ll likely pick it up. I do wonder if you can provide info on exactly which ebook format you’re using, because there are occasional compatibility issues, and I don’t use a Kindle.

Ahaha! I actually laughed aloud when I read that. Situational irony is a bitch XD

The Amazon version was originally MOBI, though I believe they change it to their proprietary format. You can still read it on any app though, if you use the kindle app. I have an old kindle myself, but I’ve also seen it on my android phone, my friend’s iphone, my aunts ipad, and any other number of devices, all by using the kindle app.

If you’d prefer epub, I also sell the MOBI & ePub versions directly at this link.

OMG I loved it! 😀 Great work! I really enjoyed how you established all the characters throughout but especially the trio, Kalenia, and the Tyrant! Probably more but those left a strong impression. The captain and major are pretty kewl as well though! Just don’t know much about them… yet :D. While his development was fine, Raedren seemed a little… less focused on than Mazik and Gavi but how the story progressed it seemed quite fitting. Oh and while I think I have an idea of some long term situations that will arise with Kalenia, please be gentle!!! She’s just so sweet & adorable :D!
Also for some reason I imagine her with pink hair… is that odd? Anime is getting to me lol

There were two mistakes I took note of. There were a few more before these but I didn’t know I could take notes, and after I got kind of swept away with the story… so yeah. O.o

Kindle: Things in quotes are in question
Location 1462
Either way, there’s no use in “your” being there.
-I think that was supposed to be “you”

Location 1647
Uncorking it, she “look” a long drink of the leathery liquid.
– Took?

Anyway other than that thanks for writing this book and posting it here! It was a real pleasure to read! Looking forward to more… so you better make them!!! 😀

Oh, and I left a review on Amazon. I really only had one critic but honestly it wasn’t a big deal (hence no lower in rating for it lol), but something that did break the pacing for me. If I have time later I’ll try and find those locations.

Thank you so much for the review! And I’ve got those mistakes marked, so they’ll get fixed in the next version.

I’m not surprised you didn’t have as firm of an image of Raedren. Partially because that’s just the kind of guy he is, though his time to shine also hasn’t come yet. He’ll be more of the focus later on, whether he wants to be or not >:D

Stilts, I have enjoyed your writing for the last few years on randomc so I bought a copy just to support you.
I really hate my Kindle fire for so many different reasons, but I will check it out for this.